POTTSVILLE - A Pope County man is dead after his bicycle was struck by a pickup on Pine Ridge Road in an apparent hit-and-run.

Sam Avery, 64, was pronounced dead at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center on Saturday morning after a passing motorist saw him lying on the side of the road shortly after 8 a.m., Pottsville Police Chief Blake Herren said.

The driver of what is believed to be a Dodge pickup that struck Avery apparently fled the scene, Herren confirmed. Evidence collected from the site suggests the truck is a burgundy or maroon model produced between 1999 and 2002 that should show damage to the headlight and signal lights on the front passenger side, and perhaps to the fender or hood as well.

Although the chief described debris authorities were able to recover from the scene as "minimal," Herren said it was impossible to estimate the level of damage the truck might have sustained in the impact.

"It would just be speculation on our part," he said when asked if the small amount of evidence collected would likely indicate minor damage to the pickup.

Authorities are confident the truck carries some indication of the accident, he noted, after they recovered broken pieces from the headlight and turn signal at the scene, along with paint chips believed to have flaked off the vehicle's fender or hood after it crumpled.

There were no known witnesses to the incident other than the driver of the truck, who like Avery was traveling northbound. An early lead suggesting the vehicle might be in the vicinity of Morgan Road in the Dover area was false, Herren said.

Avery was participating in Tour de Valley, a longtime staple of Russellville's annual ValleyFest event, when the accident occurred.

Cathy Andrasik, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Arkansas River Valley, which organizes ValleyFest, offered her condolences to Avery's survivors.

"It was a tragic thing that happened," she said late Saturday afternoon. "All of us out here in the Boys and Girls Clubs want to send our prayers and sympathy to his family."

The investigation into the death - which includes personnel not only from Herren's department, but also the Arkansas State Police and the Pope County Sheriff's Office - continues.